After the first presidential debate took place last night, the media has been set alight with the debate as to whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump won the day.

Of course die-hard supporters of each candidate were quick to claim a victory, but what is the general consensus? CNN asked a number of its analysts to weigh in with their view on the debate.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Will the debates even affect the outcome of the U.S. presidential election?

A great number of commentators were quick to laud a debate victory for Clinton. However several pointed out that in such an atypical campaign, the race may not be won as a result of strong debating.

“Coming into the presidential debate, I thought that if Hillary Clinton won decisively, she would virtually lock up the election. Coming out, it was clear that she did win decisively but I suspect that the campaign will remain ferociously close,” said CNN senior political analyst David Gergen.

Top value fund managers are ready for the small cap bear market to be done

During the bull market, small caps haven't been performing well, but some believe that could be about to change. Breach Inlet Founder and Portfolio Manager Chris Colvin and Gradient Investments President Michael Binger both expect small caps to take off. Q1 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more However, not everyone is convinced. BTIG strategist Read More

Despite a flustered performance from Trump, Gergen believes that it will have little impact on his hopes. “For one thing, Trump supporters aren’t judging him by traditional standards. They have heard establishment politicians over-promise and under-deliver for so long that they crave something different,” he said.

Trump says Clinton doesn’t understand ordinary Americans

Conservative columnist S.E. Cupp believes that Trump did well to present Clinton as out of touch with the electorate. “He had to hammer one point home: Clinton is a politician who doesn’t get it. Over and over again, he attacked her as more of the same, out of touch, and a politician who hasn’t gotten it right,” said Cupp. While Clinton beat the Republican candidate on specifics, “his attacks were far more effective than hers.”

Politics journalist Errol Louis praised the way that Clinton attacked Trump’s business record, which has been his claim to fame.

“It must be something really important, even terrible, that he’s trying to hide,” Clinton said of Trump’s tax returns, turning the tables on allegations that she’s hiding something in her deleted emails. “It just seems to me that this is something the American people deserve to see.”

“Clinton came into the night neck-and-neck with Trump in key states like Colorado and Pennsylvania, needing to weaken her Republican opponent on some of the things that have made him strong,” said Louis. One of these is his claim to be a successful businessman.

Clinton supporters criticize her performance

However it was not all good news for Clinton. A self-confessed Clinton supporter, CNN commentator Mel Robbins believes that Trump won last night’s debate after the Democratic candidate missed a chance to broaden her appeal. “She spoke to the intellectuals tuning in; she did not speak to the average American,” said Robbins.

At the same time, others argue that Trump proved to be his own worst enemy. The Wall Street Journal Online columnist Jeff Yang said that Trump “was weaving his own hanging rope” with his “rude, ignorant, volatile and churlish” performance.

For Sally Kohn, things got even worse for Trump on Monday night. “He seemed like a defensive, petulant bully who could only insult Hillary Clinton and America — and couldn’t offer a single solution, let alone details,” said activist Kohn.

Quick to point out her own bias as a Clinton supporter, Kohn recommends looking at Frank Luntz’ live focus group made up of undecided and leaning voters. “Just six people thought Trump won while 16 said Clinton was the victor,” reports Kohn.

More to look forward to in presidential race

Political commentator and Trump supporter Buck Sexton says that those results could have something to do with Trump’s inability to effectively attack Clinton’s weaknesses. “Trump had huge areas of vulnerability to exploit in his opponent, and he barely touched her on them — from Benghazi to her emails to the allegations of Clinton Foundation corruption,” said Sexton. “He will need a much stronger showing in his next debate or this thing will be over long before November.”

However former White House Senior Director and State Department spokesperson Nayyera Haq says that the debate was won by Clinton rather than being lost by Trump. “Trump’s glass jaw was exposed throughout Clinton’s onslaught of policy laden counter-punches,” she said.

Haq hailed Clinton and pointed out some quick jibes from the Democratic candidate in response to Trump’s short-tempered outbursts. “His snorting asides were countered with some surprising zingers from Hillary — “Donald criticized me for preparing for this debate. You know what else I prepared for? To be President,” said Haq.

So there we have it, a split in opinion as to whether Clinton or Trump won, or whether it even matters at all. If there is one thing for certain, it’s that we can look forward to more sparks flying in the next presidential debate.

While studying economics, Brendan found himself comfortably falling down the rabbit hole of restaurant work, ultimately opening a consulting business and working as a private wine buyer. On a whim, he moved to China, and in his first week following a triumphant pub quiz victory, he found himself bleeding on the floor based on his arrogance. The same man who put him there offered him a job lecturing for the University of Wales in various sister universities throughout the Middle Kingdom. While primarily lecturing in descriptive and comparative statistics, Brendan simultaneously earned an Msc in Banking and International Finance from the University of Wales-Bangor. He's presently doing something he hates, respecting French people. Well, two, his wife and her mother in the lovely town of Antigua, Guatemala.
To contact Brendan or give him an exclusive, please contact him at [email protected]

FOLLOW VALUEWALK ON

ABOUT VALUEWALK

ValueWalk.com is a highly regarded, non-partisan site – the website provides unique coverage on hedge funds, large asset managers, and value investing. ValueWalk also contains archives of famous investors, and features many investor resource pages.

The Life and Career of Charlie Munger

You can learn from Charlie Munger firsthand via this incredible ebook and over a dozen other famous investor studies by signing up below:Charlie is more than just Warren Buffett’s friend and Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman – Buffett has actually credited him with redefining how he looks at investing. Now you can learn from Charlie firsthand via this incredible ebook and over a dozen other famous investor studies by signing up below:

Learn from the best and forever change your investing perspective

One incredible tidbit of knowledge after another in the page-turning masterpiece of a book

Discover the secrets to Charlie’s success and how to apply it to your investing